Bragdon Stepping Down From State Senate Next Month

State Senator Peter Bragdon says he's stepping down from the Senate next month.

This comes as the Milford Republican has been reappointed to lead the Health Trust for another two years.

Bragdon took the job with the former Local Government Center in August.

He stepped down as Senate president in September to avoid what he described as the appearance of a conflict of interest, but stayed on as a state Senator.

He says doing both jobs in the short-term was possible, but long-term, it was impractical.

"The job really needs someone who can deal with legislative and regulatory issues, which is something I had recused myself from given the dual role," Bragdon said. "So, in reality, any kind of a longer-term thing requires one or the other."

Earlier this year Bragdon accepted a settlement offer from the Legislative Ethics Committee to resolve complaints about potential conflicts of interest. The committee dismissed most of the allegations including that he used his position to get the $180,000 dollar job.